


The Water Witch

by mostlylapidotandstuff



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Amputee Peridot (Steven Universe), F/F, I want to get to the plot but it;s taking a while sorry, It's a good ending, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, There may be a lot of filler, but at least I know how this ends, everyone is kind of out of character, honestly in all my fics it feels like i've just slapped canon names to ocs, kind of on hiatus right now I guess, not sure if it counts as slow burn, oh well, rating is for profanity, ships won't show up for a while, since once again I'm posting a story without knowing exactly what's going to happen, tags will be updated as the story goes on, trying to fix my excessive tagging problem is it working, updates may be sporadic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-11-28 14:06:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11419575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlylapidotandstuff/pseuds/mostlylapidotandstuff
Summary: The world has been in a drought for years. Oceans are drying up and rain barely falls at all. Humidity is at an all-time low. Scientists have been unable to find a reason, but there are rumors of a mysterious Water Witch, who controls all of the world’s water. Many have tried to find her, but all have failed. Finally, Peridot and Pearl decide to take on the quest.





	1. Steven's Choice

It was at the funeral of Rose Quartz that Peridot Olivine made up her mind. Beside her, Pearl Saline was sobbing. Now, Peridot was sad too, but that degree of crying was beginning to get on her nerves. It was the messy kind of tears, the kind that left Pearl’s eyes red and bloated and her cheeks stained. And those tears were loud, loud enough that Peridot was surprised the people on the other side of the room weren’t complaining. Peridot looked back up to the podium.

“Rose was more like a mom to me, ya know?” That was Amethyst Quartz, Rose’s cousin who was the same age as Peridot, 17. “Since her mom’s dead and my mom isn’t around all that much. I miss her so much. She would always help me with my homework when I was little, and she would cut my hair…” Amethyst ran her fingers through her short, chin length brown hair.

Peridot tuned back out as Amethyst continued to describe how Rose had taken care of both of them over the years. She supposed some people might find these kinds of speeches moving, but Peridot just found them boring. She didn’t understand the purpose of funerals. Dead meant dead, and nothing could bring the dead back. Not funerals, not gravestones, not euphemisms like “passed on” or “gone to a better place.” And not crying, though Pearl seemed to think that would help.

“And I guess I’m kind of an aunt now,” Amethyst concluded. “So that’s going to take some getting used to, too.” Amethyst stepped down, looking at Greg Universe, the father of Rose’s son. This made Pearl even more emotional. As another round of tears started up, Peridot had had enough. She carefully tiptoed out of the room, glad for the curtain of black that would help deflect attention. She finally took a deep breath when she reached the courtyard.

In the courtyard was what had once been a fountain, back when there was enough water to waste. Now, though, it was just a statue, slowly weathering away and being covered by pigeon poop. It depicted the founding of Beach city, back when there were actual beaches. Peridot figured that its presence outside of Rose’s funeral was fitting, as the rumor was that Rose’s early ancestors had helped land William Dewey’s ship.

As Peridot contemplated this, the door swung open behind her, and Pearl stepped out. “You’re out here, too?” asked Pearl, surprised.

“Yeah. Speeches were starting to get boring.” Peridot stared at the well of the former fountain. There had been coins tossed into the water long ago, but once the water was shut off, the coins were all stolen. Peridot wondered briefly if that meant the wishes were gone, too.

“Do you even miss Rose Quartz?” Pearl was sharp, like one of those swords she used for fencing.

Peridot flinched. “Of course I do! I just don’t think talking and _crying_ about her is going to bring her back to life.”

Pearl sighed and looked at the former fountain. “That must have been pretty back when there was water.”

“I know.” That was when Peridot made up her mind. She turned to to face Pearl. “I’m going to bring back the water.”

“What? Do you mean–?”

“Yes. I’m going to find the Water Witch.” Peridot began to walk back to her house.

“Peridot, you know the ‘Water Witch’ is just a myth,” Pearl protested, following. “We’re in a drought. That’s the simplest explanation, so it is the most likely.”

“Pearl, I care about logic just as much as you. But you know that even the best scientists can’t explain what is causing the drought.”

“Global warming.”

“Global warming is supposed to raise the sea level, not wipe out the ocean completely!”

“The ocean isn’t gone. There’s still water between here and Europe.”

“The Trans-Atlantic Ridge is supposed to be underwater. It’s not.”

“What if there was never water in the first place? Maybe we all just want to believe that there was.”

“Have you been reading 1984 again? There is no way that everyone could have false memories of oceans. This town is called Beach City because it used to be a beach. Because it used to be next to an ocean. There are paintings of oceans, and boats!”

“There are paintings of unicorns, Peridot! Do you think those existed, too?”

“Give me a day and I can find ten pages of evidence that the Water Witch exists.” Peridot stopped abruptly and turned around, catching Pearl off guard. “But do you want to know the real reason I want to find the Water Witch?”

“Why?” Pearl folded her arms, suspicious.

“So that little Steven can grow up in a hydrated world.”

“Don’t bring Steven into this!”

“I’m doing this for Rose!” Peridot exclaimed.

“Really?” Pearl looked skeptical.

“Yes. So that everyone knows I actually care.”

“So you’re just doing it for yourself.”

“No! I’m doing it for Rose!”

“Fine. If you’re doing it for Rose, then I’m coming with you.”

“No. I want to do this alone. Everyone already knows you miss Rose.”

“I thought this wasn’t just to shape your image?”

Peridot sighed. “If we’re doing this for Steven, how about we let him decide who goes?”

“The boy is barely a month old! How will he decide?”

“We tell him what we’re doing. Then he chooses one of us.”

“Peridot, I don’t know if you understand how babies work. But Steven won’t understand what we’re telling him. You can put a shiny toy in between us and he’ll choose that instead.”

“So would you say using Steven is a fair way to choose? It gives each of us an equal chance.” Peridot folded her arms and smiled, smug. “Or should we just flip a coin?”

“Coins are weighted. Steven it is,” Pearl conceded.

“Let’s go visit Amethyst and Greg.” Peridot turned and began to head down to the former beach. After one last moment of hesitation, Pearl followed.

***

It took half an hour to walk to the Quartz house, which had once been called the Beach House. The Quartz house was located up a sandy hill, surrounded almost entirely by sand, sand which had once been called a beach. The only other structure in this sandy expanse was an ancient shrine, which most historians agreed had been built by Native Americans long before William Dewey arrived. Others hypothesized that it was a temple to the Water Witch. Either way, it was a simple but elegant building with a stone statue in front of it. The statue probably depicted some sort of goddess, but enough limbs were missing that it was hard to say.

As Peridot paused to examine that statue with her eyes, Pearl climbed the steps to the Quartz house and knocked on the door. Peridot rushed up beside her as Amethyst opened the door, still clad in her funeral clothes. “P-dot. P. Hey.” She greeted them in a monotone, without even the slightest trace of enthusiasm.

“Hello, Amethyst,” Pearl replied, equally unenthusiastic. “We would like to see Steven.”

“Right this way. Greg’s trying to feed him.”

The girls followed Amethyst to the kitchen, where Greg was trying to get Steven to drink from a bottle of baby formula, to little success.

“Hey, Greg,” Amethyst called. “These two want to talk to Steven.”

“Oh, hello, girls,” Greg greeted them. “I don’t suppose you know anything about babies?”

Pearl recoiled slightly in disgust. “Not at all.”

Peridot shook her head. “Me, neither.”

“Anyways, may we speak with Steven?” Pearl asked.

“Sure, but I don’t know if he’ll speak back.” Greg offered them Steven. Pearl and Peridot both stepped back in sync.

“I’ll hold him,” Amethyst offered. “You go take a nap.”

“Thanks, Amethyst.” Greg gratefully headed to his room.

“So, what do you want to ask Steven?”

Peridot decided to be direct. “Which one of us should find the Water Witch in honor of your mom?”

Amethyst gasped. “You’re looking for the Water Witch?”

“Shush. Don’t distract Steven.” Pearl looked into Steven’s eyes. “Come on. Just point at one of us or something.”

Steven giggled, then pointed at both Peridot and Pearl.

“No, no, pick one of us!” Peridot explained.

Steven pointed at Peridot, then Pearl, then Peridot again with one hand. Then he pointed at both of them again.

“I guess you two are going together, huh?” Amethyst laughed. “Now, I’ve gotta feed this little guy. See ya when the ocean comes back!”

Peridot and Pearl headed out, avoiding eye contact. “So,” Peridot said finally, voice even, “let’s go to my house and figure out where we’re going.”

“Why your house?”

“Because I have sand in my leg and I’d like to get it out.”


	2. "Research"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot and Pearl each have their own definitions of research.

Pearl sat down at Peridot’s computer, trying not to gag as the other girl calmly removed her right leg from the knee down.

“Hey, if we’re going to travel together, you need to get used to this,” Peridot pointed out, noticing Pearl’s disgust. “But if you don’t think you can, I’ll just go without you.”

Pearl sighed and turned back to the computer. “What’s your password?”

Peridot hopped over to the computer, leaving her leg on a towel. She quickly typed in a password that appeared to be around 40 characters long. The computer unlocked. Peridot returned to her leg. “Make a guest window,” she requested, “and don’t judge or close my incognito tabs.”

Pearl raised her eyebrows at this but did as Peridot asked. She opened up a browser and searched “Water Witch.” The first result was a lengthy post from Keep Beach City Weird. She clicked on that and leaned back, overwhelmed by the large wall of text.

“Ronaldo’s a reliable source,” Peridot commented, almost done cleaning out her leg. “Read the post. All of it.”

Pearl raised the brightness of the screen slightly and began to read the post. Ronaldo gave a several paragraph long summary of the reasons the Water Witch exists. He presented every argument against her existence. And from what Pearl could see, the post included every single argument. “Haven’t we agreed that the Water Witch exists? Shouldn’t we be working out the logistics of the trip?”

“Read the post,” Peridot ordered, shaking out the last of the sand and reattaching her leg. She sat back and watched from across the room as Pearl read.

The post began with the arguments Pearl and Peridot had had before: Global warming and unicorns.

_The first argument many doubters give is that global warming could be causing this drought, as it has caused droughts in the past. However, this is not the case. Global warming makes the seas rise, not dwindle down to little puddles around the formerly underwater mountain ranges. Clearly, some other force is at work…_

It took half an hour for Pearl to read the entire post, and her eyes were growing tired of Ronaldo’s small font and occasional changes to a neon color. She turned back to Peridot, who was on her phone. “I don’t see why I had to read it.”

Peridot looked up, blinking. “You finished.”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Peridot returned to her phone.

Pearl sighed. This was going to be a long, tiring trip. But there was no way she was going to let Peridot do this “for Rose Quartz” without her. If anyone should be avenging Rose Quartz’s death, so to speak, it should be her! She knew more about Rose Quartz than anyone else in Beach City, including Amethyst and Greg. Peridot? Peridot was a full two years younger than Rose! The pair had barely even met more than a few times. Peridot had even avoided Rose for some time, though Rose speculated that that was Amethyt’s fault. Anyway, the point was that Peridot had no reason to do anything in the name of Rose Quartz unless it was to save her reputation. Peridot had not been convincing in her denial of this motivation.

Pearl took a deep breath. “Please explain to me exactly what your reasons were for making me read that whole post.”

“So that we’re on the same page.” Peridot didn’t even look up this time.

“Couldn’t you have just told me all of this?”

“I wanted you to hear it from the source.” Peridot held the phone closer to her face.

Finally, Pearl walked over and took it from her. “If you hold it that close, you’re going to hurt your eyes.”

Peridot looked up and blinked. “Sorry, mom.”

Pearl sighed again. “So was there anything especially useful in that one post?”

Peridot turned her attention to her hands. “There was a bit in the middle about her location.”

“Anything that you couldn’t have just told me in person?” Peridot paused, and Pearl made her conclusion. “You just made me read that to bother me. You want to annoy me so much that I decide not to come with you.” Peridot did not respond. “Well, if that’s your goal, you’re failing. We’re doing this together, whether either of us likes it or not. Now let’s do some actual research.”

Peridot strode over to the computer and took the mouse. She closed the guest window and closed all the other windows, then swiped through several desktops until she came to a large image file. It was a map of the world, covered in several blue dots. “These are the possible locations of the Water Witch according to my research.” She pointed to a group of points near Snow Island. “These are the locations that appear the most. My conclusion is that she is in the center of each of those points.” She indicated another point in green.

“So we are aiming for the green point?”

“Yes. My prediction is that once we near the green point, we shall be able to spy her Water Construct.”

“Water Construct?”

“Most sources predict that the water is condensed into a tower or a palace.”

“So we’re looking for Elsa from Frozen.”

“Absolutely not! That would be a much, much simpler task.”

“Alright. Continue.”

“The Water Construct contains nearly all water in the world. That means it shall be very, very large.”

“Wouldn’t it show up on satellites then?”

“No. She’s a witch. She can hide it. Didn’t you read the post?”

“Yes. But I must have missed some of it because there was so much.”

Peridot shook her head, disappointed. “You would not be good at this.”

“This?”

“This research.” Peridot waved her hand at the map.

“You mean conspiracy theories?”

“Research.” Peridot glared and pushed her glasses up her nose.

“Right. Research. But if she’s hiding her ‘Water Construct’ from satellites, wouldn’t it be hidden from us, too?”

“No. She would be only shielding it from the top. She is not that strong, and she is in a remote area.”

Pearl shut her eyes, not fully convinced that this wasn’t just some conspiracy theory. There were too many inconsistencies and not enough concrete evidence. Still, she had made a promise, and it was one she would have to keep.

“Alright. Let’s start planning our journey. Do you have a map of the shortest route?”

Peridot opened her mouth, then closed it. She swiped around on her desktops–Pearl counted about 25 by now–but found nothing. Finally, ashamed, she admitted, “I never planned that far.”

“Then let’s start planning.” Pearl opened up a new window and started looking for plane tickets.

“No planes,” Peridot interrupted. 

“Why? Is there some conspiracy theory–sorry, ‘research’–about that?”

“No, I lost my leg because of a plane,” Peridot replied calmly.

Pearl froze, angry at herself for being so insensitive. “I’m sorry, I had no idea! I shouldn’t have–”

Peridot waved her off. “It’s fine. You didn’t mean anything. How about trains or buses?”

“We could also travel by car.”

“You know how to wire a car, right?”

“I was talking about renting a car.” Pearl sighed. “But yes, I do know how to wire a car.”

“Nice! Renting is too expensive.”

Pearl opened a new tab and spoke as she typed. “Trains heading north from Delmarva.”

“Alright.”

***

A few hours later, they had their tickets. Peridot handed Pearl a whiteboard and Pearl began to explain, writing on the whiteboard. “We will head to the nearest train station. Then we will take the train to Empire City. We will have about an hour in Empire City until we transfer to a bus to take us farther north, into Canada, then we will have to switch–”

“I get the idea,” Peridot interrupted. “Can’t we just wire a car?”

“We are not doing anything illegal on this trip,” Pearl replied, adding this to the bottom.

Peridot gestured to part of the board where Pearl detailed how far they’d be able to get through Snow Island until inevitably having to walk several miles. “You’ll be tired of walking and my leg might freeze.”

“I’m sure your leg is designed with insulation. And if it’s not, add some.”

Peridot sighed in disappointment. “Fine. So when are we leaving?”

“Tomorrow at 6am.”

“What?”

“Do you want to go or not?”

“Couldn’t you have found a later departure time? I’m going to be up until 5 playing–”

“No, you’re not.”

“You don’t understand!” Peridot moaned. “I’m almost to the final boss level!”

“I’m sure,” Pearl paused, “whatever game you’re playing will be waiting for you when you get back.”

“But powerups go on sale tonight at 10!”

“So buy some, then go to bed.” Pearl leaned the whiteboard against the table and stood. “Now, I’ve got to get packing and you should too.” She snapped a picture of the whiteboard with her phone and walked out, leaving Peridot grumbling about how she was going to level up to gold tier or something.

The door slammed behind her and Pearl thought, once again, that this was going to be a long trip. It would last 10 days at the absolute shortest, but it could possibly stretch to nearly three weeks if something went wrong. And Pearl had a feeling that something was going to go wrong.

She headed home, drafting her packing list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are probably going to be slower after this.
> 
> Also, if there's any problems with how I write about Peridot's leg, tell me. I tried to do my research but the internet only has so much.


	3. The Journey Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl and Peridot head to the train.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapter's shorter than normal; I've been alternating between writer's block and art block and I feel like it shows. But I've had the beginning of this chapter waiting to post for like two weeks, so here it is. Sorry if it isn't as good as the other chapters. I'm still working out all the plot details but the plot should develop more when they get to Canada.

The clock struck 10:00 and Peridot nearly screamed in excitement. She refreshed That Rock Game–which was actually its official name–and leapt to the powerups screen. She bought a few generic ones, then looked for more specific features for her starters.

That Rock Game was a game that pitted sentient rocks against each other. There were two main teams, Planet Team and Space Team. Peridot was part of Space Team. Space Team’s main leaders were Forsterite, Ultramarine, and Chalcedony, and its emblem was a four pointed star. Peridot’s favorite was Forsterite, mostly because green was her favorite color but also because peridot was a form of forsterite. Her second favorite was Ultramarine, who some argued was not a real rock, but Peridot believed in her. Peridot didn’t care for Chalcedony as much, but she was strong, so Peridot used her for a starter about as much as Ultramarine.

Peridot’s Forsterite had evolved over the years to look like her, even having a metallic leg like Peridot. She also wore long gloves, which she could use to summon blasters and occasionally even fly. Peridot bought a new feature for the gloves, a tractor beam, and then ran out of money. She headed out to the battlefield.

Forsterite landed in the middle of an open plane on an asteroid that Planet Team was trying to conquer. Ahead of her was Corundum, the leader of Planet Team. Forsterite raced toward her, blaster ready. Peridot grinned. Forsterite’s stats were significantly better than Corundum’s.

Then her phone began to vibrate. She ignored it and focused on the screen, charging Forsterite’s blaster. Her phone vibrated more loudly, which she still ignored. Then, out of nowhere, another character appeared. Peridot didn’t recognize her, but she figured it was just a skin she hadn’t seen.

Peridot grimaced. This was a setback, but easy to overcome. She summoned another blaster and shot it at the other attacker. It had no effect. Her phone vibrated once again, but she pushed it away. She couldn’t deal with both Corundum, the mystery attacker, and her phone.

Firing both blasters, she started to chip away at Corundum’s health, but the mystery attacker stayed at full power. Peridot narrowed her eyes. Who was this?

Then, as the attacker reached forward and overpowered Forsterite, Peridot realized.

***

“WHAT THE FUCK, PEARL?”

Pearl held the phone out at arm’s length until the tirade was done. “I didn’t realize you could curse, Peridot.”

“I AM PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF USING PROFANITY WHEN SOMEONE SABOTAGES ME!”

“Stop screaming, Peridot, I can hear you just fine.”

“NOT UNTIL YOU ADMIT THAT YOU’RE GUILTY!”

“Peridot, I don’t even know how you got sabotaged. I’m not guilty.”

“YES YOU–”

“Now, have you packed?”

There was silence on the other end.

“That’s what I thought. Now pack and go to sleep. See you in seven hours.” Pearl hung up before Peridot could keep ranting.

… 

Pearl headed to Peridot’s house two hours before their train would depart, knowing the younger girl was definitely still asleep. She knocked on the door and Peridot’s sister Saffron answered.

“What is it, nerd?” Saffron sneered.

Pearl sighed. She couldn't believe she used to be friends with such a pretentious–focus. “Is Peridot ready?”

“Peridot, you little shit!” Saffron called. “Someone's here for you!”

Loud thumping sounds came from the floor above, followed by a screech and muffled cursing.

“Should I go see if she's okay?” Pearl asked tentatively.

Saffron sighed. “She's always like that. Always late, always knocking things over.” She noticed Pearl’s suitcase. “Going somewhere?”

“Yes,” Pearl replied.

“Good luck,” Saffron snorted.

A loud crash sounded behind them: Peridot and her suitcase falling down the stairs.

“Sorry, Pearl,” she groaned, trudging to the door. Her hair was a mess and her glasses were crooked, and from the bags under her eyes it was clear she had barely slept.

“It's fine. Let's go.” Peridot and Pearl headed out. As soon as they were outside, Saffron slammed the door behind them.

“So how are we getting to the train station?” Peridot asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Walking; it's not that far.” Pearl began to walk along, briskly.

“Wait!” Peridot hurried to keep up, but it was hard with such a heavy suitcase. Especially when she'd had so little sleep.

“We're running behind,” Pearl replied, checking her watch.

“Can't we take a taxi or something?” Peridot asked, falling behind and breathing hard. “I can't walk this fast all the way.”

Pearl slowed and winced.How could she be that insensitive. “I'm sorry. I can call a Warp if you want.”

Peridot sighed in relief. “Thanks.” She paused to take a breath, then continued. “I don't want your pity. I just don't want to speed walk everywhere.”

Pearl nodded. “Our ride should be here soon.”

A few minutes later, a familiar looking van pulled up.

“Greg?” Pearl sounded incredulous. “You drive for Warp?”

Greg shrugged, popping the trunk. “We need the money and Amethyst doesn't have a car or a license.”

Peridot put her suitcase in the trunk and hopped into the back seat. Pearl paused. She didn't particularly like Greg, but she couldn't let her opinions influence them. She shrugged off her backpack and joined Peridot.

They arrived at the train station quickly and headed in, Peridot thanking Greg and Pearl silently tipping him more than she otherwise would. Rose’s son should have a good life.

“So, what are we going to do when we get to Empire City?” asked Peridot.

Pearl shrugged. “We only have an hour. I expect we’ll go find our bus.”

“Can’t we do something in between?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, maybe see a musical?”

“A musical? I didn’t think you’d be the kind of person who wants to see a musical.”

“I’m not. There’s just one musical.”

“Let me guess: _Budwick_.” The musical _Budwick_ had been extremely popular lately, so Pearl wasn’t as surprised as she might be that Peridot liked it. Pearl personally didn’t understand all the hype, especially since the musical was full of historical inaccuracies.

Peridot blushed slightly. “Amethyst sent me a TRG parody of one of the songs, then a TRG video for a different song. The songs are really catchy.”

“You know it’s not accurate, right?”

“Yeah. But it’s still really catchy.”

“It is catchy. See, the problem is we only have one hour in Empire city and _Budwick_ is over two hours long.”

“I know.”

“How about once we get the water back I take you to see it? Your birthday’s coming up, isn’t it?”

“In a month, it’s in August. There’s no way we’ll get tickets that fast.”

“I’m sure everyone will be happy to give tickets to the heroes who brought the water back.”

“I guess they will.”

The two walked in silence for a moment before Pearl asked, “Have you had breakfast?”

“No. You woke me up, remember?”

“Let’s get some food before our train ride. How do bagels sound?”

Peridot shrugged. “Alright.”

They headed to the bagel store and Pearl wondered if they’d start up another conversation, but it seemed that Peridot was too focused on eating to really talk. Once she finished her breakfast, it was time for them to board their train, and once they sat down Peridot immediately fell asleep. Pearl sighed. At least they had talked before, so maybe there was a chance they could bond. But if not, Pearl supposed she could deal with silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter they go to Canada and eventually there's going to be drama...
> 
> Updates are going to be slower because I have another story going now sorry
> 
> Please leave a comment, I appreciate your feedback


	4. The Journey Continues (aka filler)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot and Pearl travel farther into Canada. Peridot ignores Pearl for most of the journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is mostly filler, sorry. It was supposed to be character development and/or world building but that didn't really work out. The plot will start to pick up once they get closer to the “Water Witch.” Honestly I should’ve started the story with them midway through Canada or maybe had a timeskip between the first chapter as a prologue and the second chapter, which would be what will end up being chapter 5 in this version. But I promise there will be more development eventually; I have the scenes near the end all outlined.   
> Also, I appreciate any feedback, so please leave a comment!

It seemed like Peridot was being shaken awake only a second after she fell asleep.

“Peridot, this is our stop,” Pearl was telling her.

Peridot rubbed her eyes and sat up. “We’re here already?”

“The train ride only takes two hours.”

Peridot gathered up her bags and followed Pearl off the bus. “What now?”

“We can get a snack if you’re hungry, then we find the bus to Canada.”

“Let’s go find a café with free wifi.” Peridot pulled out her phone and began to text someone. 

Pearl pointed at a sign. “Looks like there’s a Big Donut here.”

“Huh. Didn’t realize it was a chain.” Peridot didn’t look up from her phone.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but donuts sound good to me.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s go.” Pearl began to walk in the direction indicated by the sign and Peridot followed, still absorbed in her texts. It was only a five minute walk to the shop, and they got their donuts quickly. Over the next half hour, Pearl attempted to start up a conversation with Peridot, but the smaller girl replied only with one-word answers. Finally, Pearl asked, “Who are you texting, anyway?”

Peridot blushed slightly. “No one.”

“Really.” Pearl reached out a hand and quickly turned the phone around. Just as fast, Peridot hit the power button, but not before Pearl spotted a heart emoji. She decided not to mention it. “Well, our bus leaves in about ten minutes. We should head out.” 

So they left a tip and headed out to the bus stop to journey into Canada.

...

Eight hours later, Pearl and Peridot headed off the bus to their hotel, both tired. As soon as they entered the room, Peridot headed over to the bed near the window and took off her shoes and her leg, falling face-first onto the bed as she did so. Then she put her glasses on the table next to her bed and pulled the blankets over herself, ready to fall asleep.

“Aren’t you going to brush your teeth or change into your pajamas or something?” Pearl asked.

“I’m saving water,” Peridot mumbled, pulling the blankets over her head.

“Oh, and I forgot to ask, when do you shower?”

“Tuesdays.” Peridot burrowed further into her bed.

“Good, I’m on Thursdays. Can you imagine how good it will feel when there’s enough water to shower every day?”

“Can you imagine how good it will feel when you finally let me sleep?”

Pearl had no response to that, or if she did, it was not until Peridot had dozed off.

… 

Then, once again, Pearl woke her up. “What time is it?” she groaned, rubbing her eyes.

“7:00. Time for complimentary hotel breakfast!”

“You’re a morning person, aren’t you?” Peridot put on her glasses and her leg and hunted for her shoes, which had rolled away from her bed.

“I have a regular sleep schedule. Our bus leaves at 10:00, so let’s go eat!”

Peridot smoothed out her clothes from yesterday, glad that she hadn’t changed, and began to head to the door. Then she looked up at Pearl and stopped. “Pearl, how much hair do you have?”

“There’s a reason I always have it up.” Pearl subconsciously ran her fingers through her thick strawberry blond ponytail, which fell past her waist. “I’ll probably need to cut it when the water comes back. To make it easier to wash.”

Peridot nodded sleepily and headed out the door, tucking her key into a pocket on her phone case. Then she finished processing Pearl’s words and looked up again. “You said when the water comes back.”

“I did.”

“So you think we’re going to succeed?”

“I didn’t make plans for a three-week trip thinking it was going to be a bust,” Pearl replied, though Peridot couldn’t see her face and wasn’t sure if she was sincere. They arrived at the elevator and headed down to the ground level.

Peridot headed for the pancake machine and the french toast, covering them in sugar and syrup. Pearl, meanwhile, was carefully arranging the fruit salad on her plate, separating each kind of fruit. As she made her way back to the table, she remarked, “Aren’t you going to have something other than carbs, Peridot?”

Peridot held up the syrup bottle silently and kept eating, ignoring Pearl and checking her phone. Pearl just sighed and examined her grapes.

...

After breakfast, they headed back up to their room to get ready to catch their next bus. Peridot changed into an outfit nearly identical to the one she was wearing before, swapping out her “I want to believe” shirt with one that said “I don’t believe in humans” and putting on medium green sweatpants instead of dark green ones. Pearl, meanwhile was meticulously twisting her hair into a long, tight braid while her eyes ran over her suitcase packed with a variety of clothes. Peridot watched as she carefully pinned the braid into a tight bun when it was done, amazed that she could dedicate so much energy to it. Peridot herself had not brushed her hair since last Tuesday–it was Sunday now–and wasn’t planning to until the next Tuesday. Not putting any effort into her hair was her secret for achieving that signature, almost triangular shape. 

“Are you going to brush your teeth now?” Pearl asked, carefully using only the smallest amount of water.

“The longer I go, the more water I save,” Peridot replied, checking her phone.

“You should brush your teeth at least once per day.”

“Enh.” Peridot clicked on Ronaldo’s latest blog post and began to read, ignoring whatever else Pearl would suggest.

…

They headed out to the bus that would take them deeper into Canada a few minutes later. This bus ride was more of the same, several hours of Peridot ignoring Pearl and Pearl failing to make conversation. The bus took them to another hotel, where they stayed until it was time to take another bus, and the cycle continued. The days bled into each other as they journeyed further and further north. Finally, as they sat in their hotel near the coast of Canada, Pearl announced that this stop would be different.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of all this travel.” She waited for a response from Peridot and only received a glare. “I’ll take that as agreement. Well, I knew this would happen, so I planned that today and tomorrow will be a sort of rest day. Our next bus doesn’t leave until dinner time tomorrow, so we’ll have most of the day to explore the city, or just relax. What do you think?”

Peridot replied by stuffing her head under her pillow. 

“I thought you’d be more excited about this.”

“Believe me, I am,” Peridot mumbled. “I am excited to get twelve hours of sleep.”

Pearl nodded and began to look for things to do in this town. “Oh, and one more thing,” she added. “Make sure you’re ready to go in the hotel room at 6:30, no later. Good night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Will Peridot be ready at 6:30 sharp? More importantly, will Pearl? (Spoiler alert stuff will actually happen)


	5. Another Day in Canada

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl and Peridot are supposed to catch the ferry, but an unexpected turn causes them to miss their bus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is kind of out of character in this.

Pearl woke up at her usual time and saw Peridot still asleep. She went down to breakfast alone, figuring she didn't want to deprive the smaller girl of that 12 hour rest she wanted so much. When she returned, she dropped off a muffin in case Peridot was hungry when she woke up, then wrote a note saying she was heading out and did so. 

The town was larger than Beach City, but much, much smaller than Empire City. It was one of the few cities that still had a coast; Pearl and Peridot would be taking a boat across the small body of water that separated them from Snowland that evening. Pearl headed down the waterfront towards the downtown area. The body of water which couldn’t exactly be a strait or a river was much smaller than it had been before the drought, but it was still close to the most water Pearl had ever seen at once.

Soon, she had left the water behind and was surrounded by shops. She mulled over what to do: should she visit a cafe first, or a bookstore, or explore the historical landmarks? Or, she thought, feeling the bumps in her bun, she could cut off her hair now. She tried to imagine the look on Peridot’s face if she walked back to the hotel carrying her braid in her hands. She wondered how much lighter her head would feel.

In the end, she decided to look for some coffee. The hotel breakfast supply was nothing like the kind she liked, and there had been so many people using the machine that by the time she reached it, she could only pour half a cup before it was empty and a hotel employee swept in to refill it. So Pearl did some quick research and found a local coffee shop with the added bonus of WiFi. As soon as she had her morning cup, her tour of the city would begin.

…

Peridot awoke to her phone vibrating with a text from Amethyst. Though Amethyst’s life was far from back to normal, she had returned to her old loud, impulsive self, at least in her texts with Peridot. Peridot had never seen so many innuendos in one conversation until their conversation began.

As Peridot replied, describing the plans, or lack thereof, for the day, she spotted the note and the muffin from Pearl. So she wouldn't have to deal with the other girl for six hours, probably more like five hours with Pearl’s punctuality. She was fine with that.

Wanting to avoid Pearl’s lectures, she pulled on the same sweatshirt she'd worn the day before, then returned to her phone. Ronaldo had made several new posts since the last time she'd checked, and Amethyst kept texting her, which made it easy for the time to slip away. Soon, though, she found that it was five o’clock and Pearl had not returned yet. She watched the clock carefully after that, thinking maybe Pearl was trying being on time rather than early for once. At six o’clock, she got out of bed and got dressed, ready to gloat to Pearl about being more prepared. At 6:25, Pearl still wasn’t there, and Peridot began to worry.

She texted Pearl, _WHERE ARE YOU?_ Pearl still hadn’t responded by 6:30. _YOU’RE LATE,_ she added. _ARE YOU OKAY?_ When five minutes passed with no response, Peridot put on her backpack and headed out, searching for Pearl. Pearl’s note had said she was going into town, but that barely narrowed anything down.

Peridot took the fastest route to where most of the shops were and found a coffee shop with free WiFi. “Have you seen a really tall girl with strawberry blond hair?” she asked.

“Around 5’9”?” the cashier asked. “Thin? Blue sweater with a yellow star?”

“Yeah, that’s her. Where did she go?”

“She was here this morning and got a coffee to go. Don’t know where she went after that. Sorry.”

“Wow, thanks,” Peridot called as she hurried out and turned left, looking for more clues. She had to find Pearl fast; the bus left in around half an hour and they still had to go back for their bags.

As she looked for another place to ask, Pearl emerged from around the corner, sprinting towards the hotel with her phone in her hand, hair loose and slightly tangled. “I’m sorry!” she called over her shoulder. “I’ll be back–Peridot, what are you doing here?”

“Looking for you,” Peridot snapped, not feeling like gloating. “We’re late.”

Pearl’s eyes widened as she looked at her phone. “I’m sorry, I wasn't watching the time. Let’s hurry and we can make our bus, maybe we can find a taxi, maybe–”

“What were you doing?” Peridot asked, nearly jogging to match Pearl’s pace.

“I got sidetracked,” Pearl mumbled, pulling her hair into a ponytail and then a messy bun as she walked.

“Clearly. Why is there lipstick on your face?”

“She was wearing lipstick when we kissed.” Pearl winced. “Look, I know how it sounds, and I’m sorry for being late, but this won’t happen again.”

“Well, if we miss our bus because you were kissing some girl you don’t even know–”

“Actually, I have met her before, but I’m sorry.”

They walked the rest of the way to the hotel in silence, Pearl’s face burning with embarrassment. As they walked in the door, Peridot checked the time and dropped her backpack. “Bus already left.”

“It’s not that far to the Snowland ferry.” Pearl’s voice sounded unsure. “We can make it there in time for the next crossing.”

“It’s two miles and we have all these bags,” Peridot snapped. “We’re not going to Snowland tonight.” Peridot sat down and began to tie her shoes.

“We can find something to do tonight,” Pearl offered. “I heard there’s a magic show going on at the theater. The Lovely Sardonyx and her assistant Garnet. Want to go?”

“Magic shows are all illusions,” Peridot grumbled, though her hands paused above her left shoe’s second knot.

“Please, Peridot? I’ll go alone if you don’t want to come, I guess.” Pearl knew if she was left alone with her thoughts she would spend all night beating herself up.

“Fine. But you better not end up making out with Sardonyx, too.”

“She’s around thirty, Peridot, I can’t believe you would–”

“It was a joke.” Peridot pulled out her phone again. “Now which one of us is going to deal with the hotel reservations?”

… 

From her first words, Pearl couldn’t take her eyes off of the tall British girl who emerged from the wings fifteen minutes after the show was supposed to start. “Good evening, everyone,” she began in her low, smooth voice, adjusting her dark sunglasses. “I apologize for the delay. Now here is your host.”

A smoke machine fired and Garnet tossed three large sardonyx stones towards the cloud, cut into a square, a triangle, and an oval. A loud, hearty laugh filled the theatre as Sardonyx’s hands closed around the square and triangle and the oval seemed to float in space. As the smoke cleared, Pearl saw that it was balanced on the bridge of her oversized glasses.

Sardonyx stood, seeming at first to be gigantic and taller than any human should be able to grow. “She’s wearing stilts,” Peridot mumbled. Pearl shushed her and turned her attention back to the booming laughter still filling the room.

“Goooooood evening everybody!” Sardonyx’s upper half seemed to rotate around her waist. Peridot mumbled an explanation for this, but Pearl wasn’t listening. “This is the looooovely Sardonyx,” the performer continued, “coming to you a- _live_! Now, Garnet, are you ready to begin?”

“I am,” Garnet replied with a laugh.

“For my first act, I will make an object disappear. Does anyone in the audience have an object that needs to vanish?” Pearl and Peridot found that they had glanced at each other, then quickly turned their attention back to the stage.

“My taxes!” called an adult in the front view.

“Now, now, Fusion Entertainment must follow the law _just_ like the rest of you! Ohhohohoho!” she laughed, and a few adults laughed too. Peridot grumbled something about the jokes not working. “Now, you in the front row, what is that in your hand?”

A teenager with long, bouncy hair stood and presented the object. “It’s an uncut pink diamond that belonged to my mom. Please be careful with it!”

“Don’t worry!” Sardonyx assured her as Garnet picked it up. “I won’t shatter it! I am Specific! Accurate! Faultless! _Elegant!_ I never just… smash! Now, Gaaaaarnet, why don’t you... set the stage?” Sardonyx grinned. “While I prepare to eliminate this rock!” Garnet pulled a table out of the shadows, laid the gem on it, and covered it with a cloth. Meanwhile, Sardonyx pulled out a set of boxing gloves and a walking stick, tossed them into the air, and pulled down a hammer in their place.

“That wasn't even a smooth switch,” Peridot complained. “It’s obvious that–”

“Just try to enjoy the show,” Pearl snapped. “Relax.” The pair exchanged glares then looked back at the stage.

Sardonyx smashed the wad, then showed that the gem remained. “How odd! Perhaps a little spin around will help! Ohohohohoho!” Sardonyx’s top half spun again and she smashed again, still failing. “Will this call for a little extra?” Sardonyx spun again then wound up and smashed, hard. When she pulled away this time, the stone was gone.

…

Peridot was growing tired of the overused tricks with explanations she could easily see. But she stayed silent for Pearl’s sake; she could see Pearl felt guilty about missing their bus. Peridot eventually chose to just tune out Sardonyx and read Ronaldo’s old post about how magic shows are the government trying to brainwash its citizens. Like all the posts, it was an engaging, long read that lasted until the end of the show, when Peridot was suddenly surrounded by a whole lot more noise. She looked up just in time to see Sardonyx disappearing in a puff of smoke and tossing the gemstones into the air once more.

Pearl, too, had disappeared. Peridot thought it was just the crowd at first, but when she fought her way outside Pearl still was nowhere to be seen. Peridot headed back in _If Pearl is kissing Garnet or anyone else,_ she thought to herself just before opening a door to find Pearl, in fact, kissing Garnet.

“Peridot, I–this isn’t what you think it is, I used to know Garnet and–”

“Pearl, let’s go,” Peridot nearly snarled.

“See you,” Pearl called. Garnet nodded and pulled her sunglasses out of her pocket. In the second before she put them on, Peridot saw that her eyes were two different colors: a deep blue in one and an almost-red brown in the other.

As soon as they were back in the hotel, Peridot snapped, “Can you go twelve fucking hours without someone else’s tongue in your mouth?”

“It’s been three years since I had a girlfriend last,” Pearl sighed, pulling a pin from her hair. “And four years since I’ve seen Garnet.”

“Well, I’m sure the girls will love to suck your face after we bring the water back,” Peridot retorted. “Can you focus on the trip?”

“I’m sorry,” Pearl repeated. She paused in her unpinning, thinking over her words, then asked carefully, “Peridot, have you ever kissed a girl? Or a boy, or anyone.”

“No.” Peridot took off her leg and got into bed.

“Do you want to?”

Peridot stared at Pearl and Pearl hastily added, “I mean, are you straight? Wait, you don’t need to answer that if you don’t want to.”

“I have no idea what my sexuality is,” Peridot replied, slowly, “but given the opportunity, I would probably kiss a girl. And since this seems to be what you’re suggesting, I’m willing to kiss you.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to pressure you.”

“Maybe I’ll understand why we didn’t make it to Snowland today if you do.”

Pearl sat down on top of Peridot’s bed, braid swinging loose behind her. “Come out from under the covers so this isn’t awkward.” Peridot did so. “Take off your glasses so they don’t get smudged.” Peridot folded her glasses and set them on the table next to her bed, then turned back to Pearl. Pearl looked at the ground. “Now, um, I’ve never taught someone how to kiss before. Just do what I do. Except tilt your head the opposite way so that our noses don’t get in the way.”

((Disclaimer: I have never kissed anyone, hence the lack of detail.))

Peridot followed Pearl, leaning in until their lips locked. They kissed for a few seconds until Pearl pulled away. “That was the most instructional kiss I have ever had,” Pearl commented.

Peridot touched her lips, not speaking as Pearl headed off until she was just a tall, yellow-orange blur in Peridot’s vision. As Peridot crawled under the covers again, she thought that maybe she understood why they had missed the bus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really satisfied with how this chapter turned out, but I've had it sitting for like three days and I wasn't sure how I could make it any less awkward, especially at the end. But next chapter they'll get much closer to the "water witch" and they'll have other problems to deal with.
> 
> As I've said before, I really appreciate feedback! Even if all you have is criticism, please leave a comment with that (but make it constructive, don't just say you hate it)! If you did like something about this, I want to know!
> 
> Also, sorry for not adding this when I first published the chapter, but this might go on hiatus for like the rest of august or until SU comes back, I've just kind of lost inspiration plus I might completely change the ending scene. This will return at some point but probably not anytime soon.


End file.
